RuPaul

"Hey, look over there! A classic distraction technique, distracting us away from the real issues that they were voted into office to focus on: jobs, healthcare, keeping our children safe from harm at their own school. But we know that bullies are incompetent at solving real issues. They look for easy targets so they can give the impression of being effective. They think our love, our light, our laughter and our joy are signs of weakness. But they’re wrong because that is our strength. Drag queens are the Marines of the queer movement. Don’t get it twisted and don’t be distracted. Register to vote so we can get these stunt queens out of office and put some smart people with real solutions into government."

"If you can't love yourself how in the hell you gonna love somebody else? Say amen!"

"She's like a female phenomenon, she's a glamazon. A female phenomenon. A glama-z-a-a-on"

"We love you and you're so welcome here. You know we as gay people we get to choose our family you know we get to choose the people that we are around. You know was I'm saying. I am your family, we are a family here. I love you."

"People ask, "Why do you dress like a woman?" I don't dress like a woman. I dress like a drag queen."

"I will not be ignored. I am here to stay."

"What other people think of me is not my business. What I do is what I do. How people see me doesn’t change what I decide to do. I don’t choose projects so people don’t see me as one thing or another. I choose projects that excite me."

"If you have goals and the stick-with-it-ness to make things happen, people will feel threatened by you, especially if your goals don’t include them. They believe that if you take a piece of pie, then that leaves less pie for them. Seeing you follow your dreams leaves them realizing that they’re not following theirs. In truth, there is unlimited pie for everyone!"

"The point about pop culture is that so much of it is borrowed. There's very little that's brand new. Instead, creativity today is a kind of shopping process—picking up on and sampling things form the world around you, things you grew up with"

"Look at me--a big old black man under all of this makeup, and if I can look beautiful, so can you."

"All sins are forgiven once you start making a lot of money."

"Be very careful of what you allow to infiltrate your consciousness and subconsciousness. When you watch too much television, you'll start to feel inferior from all the commercials hard selling the idea that you're not complete unless you buy their product [...] The ad agencies appeal to your fear of not being wanted or loved. It's the same with the local news. They get you to stay tuned with a constant stream of fear tactics [...] It's as if our culture is addicted to fear and the flat screen is our drug dealer. Don't allow that crap into your head!"

"If you don't love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else?"

"Drag is really about mocking identity. Drag is really about reminding people that you are more than you think you are – you are more than what it says on your passport."

"We had a very hostile period [towards drag] after 9/11, especially in America, that was very fear based. And right now, we are enjoying an open window, politically and culturally. But don’t be fooled – all of this is cyclical. I’ve seen the window open in my lifetime and I’ve seen it close."

"I’ve seen trends ebb and flow. I’ve seen progress and I’ve seen regression, not just in gay movements, but in all types of movements — whether it’s gender or sexuality or race. All kinds of different movements. And humans are fickle. Humans are very trendy. And they’re posers. If some economic change happens, it can all go to shit, honestly. And I’ve seen it happen in my lifetime. So do I trust that this is what it is and it’ll stick forever? I’m skeptical and I’m cautious."

"Like I said before, there are windows of openness in our culture. And then our culture closes those windows down just as fast. And I’ve seen it in my lifetime, time and time again. Right now I’m enjoying the freedom that we all have. But it could really all end. What happened in Germany in the early ’30s, no one could have imagined that — except for the people who had lived through that kind of thing before. And it’s all cyclical. So we have a certain freedom now. And I’m not just talking about gay people. I’m talking about everyone. We have a certain freedom now. But that could all change in a heartbeat."

"In a culture, you can choose fear or love. It’s been my experience and my observation that humans on this planet feel more comfortable with fear rather than love and openness... I do know what history tells us about humans. And humans, they actually don’t feel very comfortable with openness and freedom."

"I have been discriminated against by white people for being black, by black people for being gay, by gay people for being too fem. Did I let them stop me from getting to this chair?"

"You're born naked. The rest is drag."

"He/she is the host, mentor and inspiration of RuPaul's Drag Race, the ultimate drag queen competition. RuPaul reigns supreme in all judging and eliminations of the race. However, RuPaul, the man, guide the contestants in preparin for each challenge. The Nation's most outrageous, cutting-edge, talented and stunningly gorgeous drag queens are generally the participants. Rupaul also is the fabulous judge on the tv show Skin Wars and Skin Wars Fresh Paint."

"I don’t have to explain myself. My frequency is very common and is open to anybody to tune in"

"With hair, heels, and attitude, honey, I am through the roof."